Catalog Upgrader — Help
What it does
Starting with Revit 2021, Autodesk changed the unit keywords used in family type catalogs (the .txt file next to a .rfa). Families authored for Revit 2020 and earlier fail to load their catalog types in newer Revit, showing an “invalid column unit type” error. Catalog Upgrader rewrites those catalogs to the current keywords — for example POUNDS → POUNDS_FORCE, GALLONS → US_GALLONS — so the family loads cleanly. The original file is always backed up as <name>.txt.bak first.
The ribbon
Find the tools on the WorkFlo Apps tab, Catalog Upgrader panel.
| Button | What it does |
|---|---|
| Auto-Upgrade (ON / OFF) | When ON, any family you load whose catalog uses old keywords is upgraded automatically so it is correct for the next load. State is remembered between sessions. |
| Upgrade Library | Opens the Catalog Library manager. Add family-library folders, tick which to act on, and either fix them now or turn on live watch so new/changed catalogs are fixed automatically. |
Recommended workflow
- Click Upgrade Library.
- Add your family library folder(s) and tick them.
- Click Fix Ticked Folders Now to bring every existing catalog current.
- Turn on Automatic fixing (live watch) so families added later stay current.
With the library kept current, families load in Revit 2021+ with no errors and you pick sizes in Revit’s own Specify Types dialog as usual.
Read-only libraries: catalogs under
C:\ProgramDataorC:\Program Filesmay need Revit to run as administrator (or the library copied to a writable location) so the upgraded file can be saved. Any file that cannot be written is reported.
Safety
- Every catalog is backed up to
.bakbefore it is changed. - A catalog already using current keywords is left untouched.
- A catalog is never upgraded twice — the tool tracks what it has already made current.
Supported Revit versions
Revit 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026, and 2027.